Update: Israel Launches Heavy Retaliation After Palestinian Missile Attack
- Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:16am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli aircraft and ground forces struck Gaza on Friday, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding seven other Palestinians in a surge of fighting sparked by a Palestinian rocket attack on an Israeli school bus the day before.
Israel’s ongoing retaliation for the bus attack has killed five militants, a policeman and a civilian. An Israeli Cabinet minister said the strikes will continue.
In Thursday’s attack, Gaza militants hit an Israeli school bus near the border with an anti-tank rocket, badly wounding the driver and a 16-year-old boy. Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that controls Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack. The boy remains unconscious in the intensive care ward of an Israeli hospital.
At around midnight Thursday, with Gaza rocked by explosions, Hamas announced a cease-fire. The Israeli strikes continued, hitting Hamas facilities and smuggling tunnels.
An Israeli airstrike Friday morning near the town of Khan Yunis killed two Hamas gunmen and wounded a third, according to Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry said three civilians were wounded.
Palestinian rescue services reported that three other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli tank fire in a separate incident in southern Gaza. It was unclear if they were armed men or bystanders. Electricity lines and transformers were damaged, causing power blackouts in some parts of the territory, according to Jamal Dardsawi, a spokesman for Gaza’s Electric Distribution Company.
In Israel, studies at some schools near Gaza were canceled Friday because of concerns for the students’ safety.
Matan Vilnai, the Israeli Cabinet minister in charge of the home front, told Army Radio that Israel was engaged in a “war of attrition.”
“We are acting as we see fit so that this type of fire will not continue, and so that the people behind the fire will regret it,” Vilnai said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned the bus attack and expressed concern over civilian casualties in Israel’s strikes in Gaza. He called for “de-escalation and calm to prevent any further bloodshed.”
The new round of fighting saw a potentially significant strategic breakthrough.
After years of development by an Israeli defense contractor, the Israeli military activated a new cutting-edge missile-defense system for the first time Thursday. The Iron Dome system scored a direct hit on an incoming Palestinian rocket aimed at an Israeli city, shooting it down, Israel said.
Thousands of rockets from Gaza have hit Israeli towns and cities since 2001. Israel’s attempts to stop the rockets have included military incursions – including a three-week assault than began in late 2008 -
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Associated Press Writer Ibrahim Barzak contributed reporting from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
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Comments (110)
Marine Recon Dad
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:13amGOOD for Israel. Hamas attacks, Israel returns fire, Hamas calls for cease fire, Israel says kiss my a$$….. I wish we had those balls.
…. but then again, WHEN our backs are against the wall because of this Admin and Congress’s inactions, we will have no choice but to grow a set. I just hope they are as big as Israel’s….
Report Post »fobama
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:13amAs the days of Noah, so to shall the coming of the son of man be, I will help defend Israel, every dam step of the way!!
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:10amYes Impeach the imposter and chief LOBOMA then inact term limits on the other vultures.
Report Post »dcwu
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:58amImpeach Obama.
Report Post »APatriotFirst
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:49amScience says on this show I am watching……..
All Locust are Grasshoppers, BUT…not all Grasshoppers are Locust.
So I will now adopt this knowledge…..radical muslims are locust, all muslims are grasshoppers. But, as we now know, not all muslims are radical muslims. OR….not all grasshoppers are locust, but all locust are grasshoppers.
Israel needs to stomp out the Locust! Maybe take some Grasshoppers also, just for good measure.
Report Post »NedKelly707
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:42amGOOD! The supporters of the murderous pedophile mohammad (piss be upon him) kills one Israeli, then Israel should kill one thousand of them!
Report Post »christos
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:37amDay’s of messing with ISRAEL.the JEWISH people & CHRISTIANS & the MEEK are numbered,and we will live for eternity with our +HOLY FATHER & JESUS+ pray up pack up cause we are going up in a twinkling,of an eye,for 10k years–7 to +GOD+ while the 7 years of tribulation are going on here,then we will come back with +KING JESUS+ on white horses believe it,+GOD+ can not be explained that is why HE is +GOD+ prepare your heart to meet +HIM+ soon I believe with all of the events taking place,discern the times,oh and the name “Mother Nature” is a man made thing it is +FATHER GOD+ who controls the weather.
Report Post »Eblaze44
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 6:28pmboth titles are man made. and it is the laws that God created that control the weather – the rain falls on the good and the bad equally.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:37amThe Iron Dome system sounds promising. Pray for it’s effectiveness.
Report Post »wesinLR
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:32ami wish israel would just level gaza . turn it into a parking lot. then there will be a cease fire..
Report Post »DEConservative
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:31amThe UN is a little like a public school teacher when two gang members get into a fight in school…they have NO intention of DOING anything to stop either side from fighting…they just need to be able to pretend they did something to stop the blood shed…so they can sleep at night… cowards
Report Post »Personally…I say since the Palestinians are the ones initiating the conflict…from now on they cede 1 square mile for every rocket they fire at Israel.
Ron Staiger
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:29amNow that the US has apparently defected from its responsibilities towards Israel, their only friend in the Middle East, perhaps Israel should seriously consider enforced emigration of Palestinians to Gaza and permanent separation from them. Maybe concertina-wire topped walls and guard tower machine guns would be something the murderous Palestinian dogs would respect as a boundary. After all, such a smackdown by the Israelis would be consistent with the brutality of sharia law making them feel right at home.
Report Post »Coralchristie
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:20amI love it! Hamas hits….Israel retaliates…Hamas yells “cease fire! cease fire!”. Poor Hamas.(not) You know that Hamas will hit again and it will start all over again. Israel is a tiny country surrounded by enemies who are bent on their destruction.They have to fight back or die.
Report Post »exdem
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:16amThey will hit hard when the Ayers flotilla comes to stir up war by bringing Hamas more weapons. I bet if they check the weapons on the flotilla they will find Irans evil hand involved.
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:14amHamas attacks a school bus, Israel starts to retaliate, Hamas declares a cease fire, but Israel continues. Isn’t that similar to going up to someone much larger then you, hitting them in the face, and then throwing up your hands before they can do anything and start screaming “truce”? What is disgusting is I am sure that we are going to hear a bunch of liberals condemning Israel for attacking the “peace loving” Hamas who has declared a cease fire. As usual it will all be Israel’s fault.
Report Post »If you keep poking a bear with a stick don’t be surprised when you end up being bear food.
awizard
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:14am‘Can’t wait for the headline’s; “Israel attacks Palestinians, again, several dead as the assault continues” … [old line]; Can anyone here imagine what would happen if Canada or Mexico started lobbing missiles into the United States?.. All hell would break loose!.. The Minutemen and the Militias would destroy whoever did it!.. Obama would want to “talk about it”.
Maybe some of you organizer types out there could start a private Israeli defense fund, since Obama seems to have thrown them under the bus (’name sounds familiar, maybe there is one already?) … I’m “old” and “set in my ways” … And “my ways” include standing with my neighbors and friends … ‘don’t matter what color or religion (islam is NOT a religion) … ‘you start shootin at me, talk time is over …
Israel has every right to exist … “School buses really?” …
Report Post »jedi.kep
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:13amI cannot wait for Israel to have a Casey the Punisher moment on Hamas. I will love to watch the news on that day. Enough is enough. Blow those terrorists into oblivion and be free of them.
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:08amGo Israel!!!! Show those turds who’s boss…
Report Post »vtech61
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:03amFirst:
“Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that controls Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack.”
Then:
“At around midnight Thursday, with Gaza rocked by explosions, Hamas announced a cease-fire.”
Hamas announced a cease-fire?
Report Post »LMAO @ THEM.
(OK, not really laughing, this is so sad)…
BehindBlueEyes
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:59amThis is only the beginning of a new push to pressure Israel to retaliate. They are going to turn up the heat on Israel until it sparks and ignites the whole region in war. This all may come to head in mid May lead by the flotillas. Who knows the Iranians could even show up with the military ships they repositioned in Syria via the Suez canal.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:51amHopefully we the Patriots can take the Senate in 2012 and we can then support our Godly friend Israel. Go Israel Go get um dawg.
Report Post »joefboschsr
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:22amhopefully there will still be an Israel in 2012
Report Post »Nobamazone
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 10:08amOh there will be an Israel, hopefully there will be an AMERICA!
Report Post »God made pretty clear who He will protect, and what will happen to those who turn their back on Israel!
Psychosis
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:40amgood for them
lucky im not the one calling the shots, it would have been over decades ago
Report Post »WestOfThePecos
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:39amThey’ll still need boots on the ground. This is the taunting what ‘only’ Beck has been talking about.
Report Post »emertz8413
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:29amIt’s come to this now, school busses, really??? and Israel is the problem? Glad to see the new missile-defense system worked. Too bad it didn’t help the people on the bus!
Report Post »lel2007
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:03amIt’s been school buses, restaurants, all sorts of civilian targets for years. The Gaza gang are terrorists doing what terrorists do.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:27am.
Report Post »Well at least Israel will fight to the last man, my house will stand with God’s people. But I am afarid Obama will have our troops fight for the otherside…….
jblaze
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:27amMy God speed the return of His Son Jesus Christ to finally stop the madness of the world!
Report Post »riseandshine
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:50amIt’s not going to be pretty when He returns. Thats why it’s called the terrible day of the Lord. I know I’m not ready.
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:53amWas it a bumper sticker I saw that said:”Jesus is coming, and is he pissed off”
Report Post »gramma b
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:25amGood for Israel.
Report Post »RightUnite
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:41amAmen!
Report Post »BIGJAYINPA
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:46amYes, Good for Israel for now. How many more Israelis must die before something is done to end this once and for all?? Now they have the sword of the “Peace Flotilla” hanging over their heads. If there were no more Gaza maybe there would be no need for a “Peace Flotilla” If there were no more Hamas, Hezbollah or their Iranian masters there would finally be peace. If the Palestinians would lay down their arms there would be peace in Israel. If the Israelis laid down their weapons there would be a slaughter. Whose side are you on??
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:49amGRAMMA B, I agree. I was afraid Israel was going to sit back and take it. We need to pray for the people of Israel and their ability to defend themselves. It is a cruel world we live in when a country can not exist without fear on a daily basis. God watch over Israel and her gentle people.
Report Post »ISeeDanger.com
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:54amAll I can say is watch out…
Report Post »When this explodes, it’s all down hill.
http://www.ISeeDanger.com
hersey10
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:58amDamn right !!
Report Post »GIDEON612
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:00amYou can only bully someone so much. I give a great deal of credit to Israel for their tolerance. They own the land and much more. Someone comes on my land and begins shooting at me I don’t think I am gong to stand there as target practice. There is no such thing as Palestine or inhabitants thereof. This was a lie and another attempt to wipe Israel off of the map.
Hadrian used a mixed word, in 135 A.D., that included one of Israel oldest enemies, the Philistines, and came up with Palestine and placed it over top of Israel on the map.
A lie told enough times becomes the truth? I think not.
Anyone that refers to the vast land of Israel as that just shows that they either hate Israel or a S.A.P.( Stupid on purpose}
Stop being liberally correct, do your own homework and pray for the peace of Israel.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:07amObama will condemn the Israeli action……….
Report Post »Miguelito
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:30amGood for Israel. True Christians are praying for you! Every true believer needs to go to cufi.org (Christians United For Israel) are sign the petition.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:36amREPUBLICORP, Obama always sides with evil. Of course Hamas called for a cease fire when Israel retaliated, just like the dems (can’t we act like grown ups, civility, etc.) when the Republicans stood their ground. They steam roll when they have control and whine when the tables turn – they are just a bunch of bullies who can dish it but can’t take it.
Polwatcher
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:41amAnyone who cannot see the massive injustice being perpetrated against Israel by the Palestinians has something very wrong in their mind.
Report Post »Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 8:59amYou said it Grandma! Go Israel! Destroy all your enemies. God is on your side. Your enemies will get just what they deserve.
Cobra Blue
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:01amGo for it! You have my support Israel.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:15amIf you dish it out, you’d better be ready to take it.
Report Post »jackrorabbit
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:15amGood, except that Egypt promised to protect them. This could be a bad thing right now.
Report Post »Motherforlife
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:34amIt is about time.
Report Post »JoeBtfsplk
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:40amAmerica had better get her “ducks” aligned!
Report Post »Starting with the removal of the head duck-Obama.
TexasCommonSense
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:58amI wonder how they’re planning to handle the next flotilla planned for May. They just can’t send their soldiers in to get beaten with poles again. I have no doubt they’ll handle it well. They need to make a firm statement or the idiots will keep trying.
Report Post »Nobamazone
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 10:04amYou are right grandma!
Report Post »God will take care of Israel, we true Christians are praying for them also! It truely amazes me so many are blinded by what is happening, Hamas and all th eothers have made clear what their intentions are and the world will blame Israel for not agreeing to the “cease fire”. We have been overtaken by pure blind and stupid! with the prince of evil at the helm.
HairRazor
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 10:07amirrelevant.. my da friend, the people of Israel can take a punch, punch, punch… then it‘s time for the ’ol body slam for the little bully Hamas.
Report Post »ConstitutionalPatriot
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 10:15amYou go Israel!! Start showing them today that whoever wants to be first will be DEAD! All punks and losers stand tough… But never want to be first!! Israel is correct smack the first A**hole and the others stand around trying to get someone else to go next.
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 10:49amGood.. where do you donate money to Israel??? OH I bet GLENN will be telling us tonight on his television show.. when he asks us to stand with Israel…sorry just answered my own question..LOL
Report Post »Bengal68
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 11:35amCan you believe this one
“At around midnight Thursday, with Gaza rocked by explosions, Hamas announced a cease-fire.”
So they fire rockets then call a cease fire. Well screw them. Keep bombing until they are all pushing up daisies.
Report Post »SPKnarr
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 11:49amI stand with her until the end!!! God bless israel!
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 12:04pmI support Israels’ right to defend themselves by any means necessary.
Report Post »604karen
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 5:48pmAmen again!
Report Post »Dakota
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 7:03pmIt’s about time.
Report Post »yippyio
Posted on April 8, 2011 at 9:17pmMeir Kahane is alive and well on this blog.
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